Tag Archives: Digital Nomad

Have you ever wished you could reinvent yourself and start over? Maybe you’d start a new career, be more productive or act with more confidence. Wouldn’t it be great if you could get rid of all your old limitations and completely begin anew? Living as a digital nomad offers those opportunities on a regular basis. Relocating to a new city, particularly if it has a completely different culture, is an opportunity for a lifestyle makeover.

You Are Not In Control of Your Life

It’s can be very surprising to learn how much our cultures influence our lives. Our families, peers, societal norms and social status all have very strong control over what we do and strive for everyday. It’s difficult to understand if you’ve only lived in a single culture.

People don’t get tattoos and body piercings, wear the latest fashions, drive certain cars, purchase trendy products or join clubs and religious groups to stand out. We do those things to fit in.

This is very important. Most of us think we are unique and freely choosing everything we do and buy, but we are not. Even worse, those societal pressures that dictate our preferences all too often keep us …

Why would a professional couple with good jobs, great friends and a comfortable lifestyle give it all up to travel the world? Warren and Betsy Talbot of MarriedwithLuggage.com explain exactly what led to their location independent lifestyle, what they did to prepare, how they fund their travels, total costs for RTW travel, hardships, relationships and more in this comprehensive interview. They are Amazon publishing experts and have a wealth of knowledge and advice to share. Grab a notebook because there is some great advice and actionable information in this interview. (The video follows the questions below.) Enjoy!

Interview Questions

0:20 Can you give us an introduction into your website and background?

2:00 What kind of work were you doing before you started this lifestyle?

2:15 Did you enjoy your work? Were you feeling fulfilled?

3:01 What was your wake up call to make you start planning for your new life?

I recently wrote a post talking about all the deficiencies of this JetSetCitizen website. People are telling me that the name JetSetCitizen and the website structure itself, don’t really represent what I’m about. I’m now debating whether or not to start a new blog and start over with something that I feel will be more compelling to readers. I would love to hear your feedback about what would provide the most value for you.

Are Digital Nomad Interviews What you Want?

JetSetCitizen.com is primarily focused on digital nomad interviews. Most people don’t seem to like reading or watching long interviews. Those posts continually get the least amount of shares and comments. My most popular posts have been on more personal topics highlighting my own journey and challenges. Last year’s blog redesign have helped increase the number of daily subscribers, but compared to many of my peers, my message and content is still not resonating with most people.

Many people have told me that the name ‘jetsetcitizen’ doesn’t really represent my real focuses of anti-consumerism, doing good in the world and trying to create a substantial difference. I know I need a better story and should try to be more …

We are in the midst of a digital nomad revolution. The opportunity to live in low-cost foreign locales, while building businesses that reach the world has never been easier. There are already thousands of location independent startups roaming the globe, but this is only the beginning. Massively reduced living and business costs combined with endless opportunities to connect with like-minded entrepreneurs are a strategic advantage that traditional startups can no longer afford to ignore. No one epitomizes the new jetset citizen lifestyle better than HoboCEO, Chris Kirkland of Artweb.com. I had the great fortune to meet up with Chris in Thailand and Japan recently. He shares his story in this interview.

Please tell us about yourself?

Born in the UK, moved city three times before I was even 18, so perhaps a little bit of the hobo in me from an early age. I left home at 17 and have been pretty much financially independent ever since. I studied Mathematics at university, however study is perhaps the wrong verb since I spent most of the 3 years with my face cello-taped to a bong, in band rehearsals and whilst (relatively) sober organising the Uni Amnesty International group.

The number one problem with novice bloggers is that they don’t have a business. Blogging to bring organic search traffic to promote a specific product or service is a great idea. Blogging on generic topics with the hope of someday monetizing the traffic somehow, is a terrible idea. That’s why it’s so rare to discover someone like Yamile Yemoonyah who commits to a very narrow niche early on. Yamile develops WordPress websites and offers marketing consulting for artists. Her blog is a great source of client leads and sales because she publishes valuable information about online marketing for artists. She offers a great service and her content marketing efforts are focused on generating leads and building trust for her business. Every company should be following this exact strategy.

In this short, but content packed video, Yamile shares details in how she got started, how she gets clients and her life as a digital nomad. As a special bonus, the dogs of Chiang Mai have provided the soundtrack for this video.

Perhaps the best part of a digital nomad lifestyle is the opportunity to meet up with like-minded people all over the world. One of the better friends I’ve made in the last year is Sebastiaan Van Der Schrier. His business is helping people overcome social anxiety disorders through his products and Skype based coaching. Sebastiaan talks about his experiences living around the world and how he built the online business that funds his travel lifestyle.

This was an important interview for me because I also suffer from various social anxieties. Talking on video, meeting large groups of people and public speaking can be very stressful and difficult for me. Sebastiaan took me through a two-hour coaching session and I think it helped a lot. I’ll make some more comments on his coaching below.

Sebastiaan Tells Us

Where he has travelled over the last decade.

Why he didn’t like living in Bali.

How he initially funded his permanent travel lifestyle.

How he built a successful online business even though he made a lot of mistakes along the way.

Here is a selection of photos to show a little about what our life is like in Thailand. We tend to get into a routine and do the same things on a regular basis. Our life is simple, but very enjoyable. There isn’t a day that goes by that we aren’t grateful for the opportunities we have. We live in amazing times.

Visa Run to Myanmar

Every digital nomad knows this story well. After two or three months you have to travel to another country to renew visas for another short stay. Fortunately, visa runs are well established in Thailand and there are tours specifically for getting a new stamp in your passport. A day trip to Myanmar from Chiang Mai costs less than $20 with lunch and some sight-seeing included. Now we are good for another two months in Thailand.

Visa run to the Myanmar border.

Great Thai Food

One of our favourite restaurants in Chiang Mai is Imm Aim (formerly Pun Pun). We go there 4 or 5 times a week because the food and atmosphere are great. I love small family run restaurants and the open garden is so relaxing. Imm Aim is a must try for …

I’m sure most of you are running around in a panic because of the end of the world, but on the small chance it doesn’t end, this is another great day to finally make some progress on that website or blog you have been thinking about. HostGator is offering another 50% off promotion for today only. (December 21st) That means you can have your own website for as little as $2.48 per month.

For about $10 per year for a domain name and a few dollars per month for web hosting, you can have your own website. It’s very easy to get started, but if you need help, I will help you get started at no charge.

The Hatchling Plan is the cheapest (from $2.48 per month), but that only allows you to have one domain main. I recommend the Baby Plan (from $3.98 per month, because it offers unlimited websites. You can get the 50% discount for up to three years if you purchase today.

Click the Image below to go to the HostGator site.

Sometime today the discount is going to go up to 75% for two hours, however Hostgator isn’t publicizing when that will be.

Bonus 1 …

The best part of working on this site and doing so many interviews, by far, is the opportunity to meet and connect with people in person. I was fortunate enough to meet up with Dave Dean three times this year. His inspiring fundraising work with OneGirl is a perfect example of what all of us can do if we set our minds to making the world a better place. In this interview, Dave provides some details on his travel lifestyle and how he earns a living, He also gives some great advice on making money with a travel blog and how to get freebies and sponsorships. Enjoy the interview!

Please tell us about yourself?

I was born and grew up in New Zealand, graduated with a History/Political Science degree and fell into working in IT. At the age of 22 I left for the UK, living and working there for three years while developing a travel addiction every chance I got. For several years after that I tried to juggle my career with regular travel stints, failing miserably to achieve the balance I desired. Finally, a little over a year ago, I ditched the cubicle for the final time in …

With Germany’s forward thinking Freelancer Work Visa and inexpensive living costs in the creative and culturally rich city of Berlin, there is only one digital nomad headquarters in Europe. Increasing numbers of travellers are falling in love with Berlin and making this city their homebase. After a round-the-world trip, designer and blogger Adam Groffman couldn’t resist the pull of Berlin and has relocated there. In this interview, he shares what makes Berlin such a great city, shares his travel experiences and explains how he funds his expat lifestyle.

What made you want to quit your job to travel around the world?

I grew up in Texas but went to school and lived in Boston for a while. I studied communications with a focus on advertising (though I’d initially started my studies as a journalism student), but actually worked in the book publishing industry right out of college doing graphic design. I studied abroad twice while at university and that always made me want to live abroad. In 2009, I realized it’d been years since I traveled abroad so a friend and I planned a weekend trip to Iceland. Neither of us had any spare vacation time, so we planned the …